A group of 78 former UFL players and team staff members “are suing” league Founder BILL HAMBRECHT. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in Las Vegas said that they “have not received any of the pay agreed upon in their contracts or in personal guarantees by Hambrecht” (AP, 3/12).
THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA: Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT yesterday at the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council's annual meeting "lashed out" at political leaders, "comparing the ongoing Washington D.C., economic gridlock to the four-month-long” NFL lockout in ’11. Kraft said, “It really bothers me what’s going on in this country, that it was similar to our union negotiation.” He also discussed business in Massachusetts and said, “I don’t like us having Facebook start here and going to Silicon Valley. That company should be evolving right here because we all know when that happens, there’s 20 other companies that are going to come out of it” (BOSTON HERALD, 3/13).
BRAIN TRUST: Raleigh-based PSE Technology has created GelDefender, an “8-ounce soft cap that fits the head and can be worn underneath helmets.” The product can be “used with helmets for football, lacrosse, ice hockey, skateboarding, baseball and softball, and helmets for military and industrial use.” PSE Managing Member BILL FUTTERER said, “I think we are ahead of the game” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/13)
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| Brian and Amy France made a significant donation at the Autism Speaks benefit |
CHARITY STRIPE: NASCAR Chair & CEO
BRIAN FRANCE and wife
AMY last night
hosted “Speeding For A Cure,” a benefit for Autism Speaks and The Gillen Brewer School, at N.Y.’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The NASCAR Foundation and the Frances made a “significant” donation (
NASCAR)....Yankees President
RANDY LEVINE is “volunteering to do some public relations work for Friends of the IDF," a N.Y.-based fundraising operation that supports Israeli soldiers (
HAARETZ.com, 3/12).
NAMES: Nets Owner MIKHAIL PROKHOROV has been “accompanied around town” by MILA JOURAVLEVA, a former sales rep for Dimension Films Founder BOB WEINSTEIN. A source said that the “connection’s for business.” Jouravleva said that the two are “just friends” (N.Y. POST, 3/13)....Legislation aimed at naming a Mississippi River bridge after late Baseball HOFer STAN MUSIAL passed in the U.S. Senate Monday “by unanimous consent” (STLTODAY.com, 3/12)….Thunder Owner CLAY BENNETT has “accepted an appointment to serve on a state board overseeing efforts to build the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum” east of downtown Oklahoma City (NEWSOK.com, 3/9)….Late IndyCar driver DAN WHELDON's widow SUSIE “will wave the green flag” for IndyCar’s March 24 season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (AP, 3/12)….ESPN's MEL KIPER JR. will be inducted into Calvert Hall high school’s Alumni HOF in Baltimore on March 23 (BALTIMORESUN.com, 3/13)….The NFL Digital Media Summit at SXSW “quietly kicked off before the festival erupted with some 28,000 attendees,” the second consecutive year the brand has "held such a members-only meeting." The meeting held on March 5 included 160 NFL team staffers (ADWEEK.com, 3/12)….Raiders QB TERRELLE PRYOR has signed a marketing and management representation deal with Beverly Hills-based Rival Sports Group (Rival Sports Group)….Adams Golf is “going after” former VP/Research & Development TIM REED, claiming in a court petition that he “copied and made off with Microsoft Excel files containing calculations for analyzing performance data for golf clubs.” Adams in the Feb. 13 lawsuit stated that Reed “copied the proprietary data onto a USB device in January, shortly before he resigned for a job in the R&D department” of Callaway (DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/8 issue).
IN MEMORY: Albany Times-Union reporter RICK WOODSON, who “built a legacy as a sportswriter,” yesterday died at the age of 72 (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 3/13).
